Thread by @usnehal

So, I started at @MITSloan & @MITSloanFellows with a huge amount of faith & probably placing institution a bit excessively on a pedestal. (Also, it is ridiculously expensive)

Had to adjust expectations
Some is disruption from pandemic & online
Some is just reality
Assessment:

What this year allows me is to explore, expand, acquire new skills within a specific structure & with a cohort that is committed to each other.

I chafed when assigned teams. I have always been a self directed learner. Need to go at my own pace.

https://t.co/V9IwDr0kDU

Have some kind of neurodiversity (I was curious & got neurocog tested but they told me my results made no sense to them after they held a conference to discuss - it fit no pattern) - is one reason I chose @MIT, not establishment staid places
To be around:

It has been tough, I’ll admit. It is super hard to stay focused in lectures via Zoom + Zoom fatigue. I don’t really care about calculating confidence intervals & want to go straight to building models. There is none of the in person connectivity or random hallway encounters.

Instead of direct & lacking EQ I expected (wanted), my group is super polite, “you first”, kind, risk averse, needs permission to say no or try saying something wrong. They think at a different pace. I was so frustrated had to mentally check out

They may as well be pediatricians

I have spent my whole career worried about harm & being perfect (one cannot accept lower standards when others’ lives on the line). Tiny blip in BP - is the kid about to crash? Balancing parent satisfaction scores with practicing #EBM (like #VaccinesWork medical advice).

I vented with mentor and some select friends in cohort. I assessed sunk cost fallacy and gave myself permission to ask if this program really was going to serve my long term goals at all.

What were the costs & opportunity costs for the outcomes I wanted?

My mentor, who is awesome & I call my “major me” (I am his “mini me”) agreed that some things not as he would expect but helped me boil it down.
1- is online learning going to be a barrier, ill suited to my brain? If so, that is real & wrong year
2- do I want an MBA at all?

Decided

-All my usual self management hacks must be re-developed for this medium - am sorta figuring it out

-I am doing this at a particularly stressful time in history, must accept that will affect my cognitive function

-if am already assessing sunk cost, I *am* learning

Already, a @MITSloan & @MITSloanFellows alum who founded a healthcare start up in Latin America reached out, seeking a potential medical advisor. I can leverage my education & recent faculty in residence at @AKUGlobal.
Escape constant fighting of US healthcare for #globalhealth

There is SUCH a cool set of alums. I chose this setting specifically. There are other schools that create a lot of traditional executives who use an MBA to accelerate up the ladder & established institutional path. That's not who I want to be around

Instead, disrupt status quo